In September 1449, a bloody massacre took place at Tumu Fort in Huailai, Hebei Province, where hundreds of thousands of Ming generals were pursued and killed by tens of thousands of Wallachian cavalry, dozens of high-ranking Ming officials died tragically under the sabers of the Wallachians, and even the town of Zhu Qi, Emperor Mingyingzong, was taken prisoner. Among these martyred ministers, there was one person who was the most unfortunate, because he was the elder of the Four Dynasties, who had been fighting on the battlefield for decades and had hardly lost a battle, but in the end he was killed by the emperor and eunuchs.
First, the door tiger
This person's name was Zhang Fu, and he came from a family of martial generals, and his father was the famous general Zhang Yu. In 1399, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, raised an army in Beiping, and Zhang Yu was Zhu Di's right and left hand, and Zhang Fu also followed his father to participate in the war. In 1401, Zhang Yuzhan died in Dongchang, and Zhu Di was very sad and let Zhang Fu inherit Zhang Yu's official position. In the ensuing battles, Zhang Fu "made meritorious contributions from the battle of Jiahe, Gaocheng, Zhangde, and Lingbi", and became one of the important heroes of Zhu Di's "Battle of Jingnan".
In September 1402, Zhu Di was made empress dowager and made a meritorious warrior of Jingnan, and Zhang Fu was given the title of Special Jin Ronglu Doctor, Pillar State, and Xin Amber for his military merits, and ate 1,000 stones of Lu, enjoying the privilege of hereditary and avoiding death. Because Zhang Fu's sister was Zhu Di's concubine, Zhu Di had reservations about the reward, and two years later some meritorious men raised this issue, believing that Zhang Fu's reward was too low, so Zhu Di once again issued an edict to crown Zhang Fu as the Marquis of Xincheng, eating 1,500 stones.
2. Southwest of Weizhen
During the reign of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, he adopted an active and proactive strategy in foreign policy, and in this case, the Ming Dynasty began to interfere in the inheritance of the Annam throne and launched a war against Annam. Zhu Di appointed Zhu Neng as the main general and Zhang Fu as the deputy general, and commanded the war with full authority. However, Zhu Neng fell ill and died halfway through, so Zhu Di asked Zhang Fu to command the entire army. Annam has a complex terrain and a harsh climate, and even the Mongols suffered great losses in those years, but this was difficult for Zhang Fu.
After entering The territory of Annam, the Ming army under the command of Zhang Fu won many battles and won many battles, such as entering no man's land, and pacified it in May 1407. From the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Jiaotong "fell into the barbarian obedience for more than four hundred years", and finally "re-entered the territory", Zhang Fu can be said to be the greatest merit, after the return of the class teacher, Zhu Di ordered Zhang Fu to be crowned as a British duke, "three thousand stones, give the world coupons". After that, there were many rebellions in Jiaotong, and no one else could figure it out, as long as Zhang Fu was sent out, he could put it to rest, "the people are afraid of the only auxiliary.".
Third, regret and death
Zhang Fu lived a very long life, he experienced the four emperors of Ming Chengzu, Ming Renzong, Ming Xuanzong, and Ming Yingzong, but it is said that he witnessed the process of the Ming Dynasty from prosperity to decline. In that year, Zhang Fu once followed Zhu Di on his northern expedition and crisscrossed the desert north. During the reigns of Emperor Akihito and Emperor Xuanzong, he also had great respect for Zhang Fu. After Emperor Mingyingzong ascended the throne, he favored the eunuch Wang Zhen, resulting in Wang Zhen's monopoly. At that time, the civil and military officials in the court were very respectful when they saw Wang Zhen, "looking at the dust and looking down", and only Zhang Fu could resist him.
However, Zhang Fu was already old after all, and he knew that he didn't have much time to come, so naturally he didn't want to cause trouble. In 1449, When the Ming Dynasty attacked the ming frontier, at the instigation of Wang Zhen, Emperor Ming Yingzong decided to march in person. At this time, Zhang Fu was already seventy-five years old, and he was forced to follow the emperor's personal conquest. Zhang Fu fought all his life and had rich military experience, but he was also afraid of Wang Zhen's power and did not dare to make any military proposals, "silently daring not to speak." In the end, a generation of famous generals buried their bones in the civil fort, and were killed by Ming Yingzong and Wang Zhenkeng.
References: 1. History of Ming; 2. Records of Ming